Medicine Is The Best Medicine Poem by Greg Davidson

My life depends on medicine
From boxes on the stand
One by one I count them out
And place them in my hand.

One is white and flat and round,
I take it twice a day
Taking note it warns me that
If stopped I’ll pass away.

There is a large and brownish one
From my apothecary
I take it every now and then
To keep my spirit merry.

It comes from John the sainted one,
A cost to match its size.
The others come at less expense,
The State does subsidize.

And now the one that’s for my lungs,
Speckled white and brown.
Noting well the label says
”With food” to get it down.

There’s one that’s pink, but it will wait,
Until the ending of the day.
Overnight, while I’m asleep,
It takes cholesterol away.

There’s two that are halved,
Lozenge long and white,
One’s other half I take tomorrow,
The second one’s at night.

The first is for my BGL,
So its neither high nor low,
The second for my heart rate
To keep it beating slow.

I count them out and toss them in,
Then raise a cup to mouth.
I take a gulp of water
To help them travel south,

But one stays upon my tongue,
To bide reluctantly.
I feel it sit at back of mouth,
And wonder which it be.

It lingers with a bitter taste,
Left upon my tongue.
I note it’s not the orange pill.
That’s the sugar coated one.

One more gulp and now its gone.
My morning chore complete,
Until there pass another day,
The ritual to repeat.

Laughter is the best they say
When one’s in sickness mired
But medicine is better still
When medicine’s required.